Kelly recently spent a holiday in Italy and Croatia, with a couple of fleeting sidesteps into neighbouring countries. She’s a big believer in maximising leisure time spent overseas and views it like this: “Firstly, Australia is a bloody long way from most places. My general rule of thumb: every 7 hours in the air earns you 7 days on the ground, otherwise it’s not a proper holiday. A flight from Melbourne to central Europe therefore equates to a 3-week break. It’s solid science. Secondly, I’m still on my quest to visit 50 countries before I turn 50. I selected an organised tour that ticked off three new countries for me – Slovenia, Croatia & Montenegro. And because my starting point was going to be Rome, I tacked on San Marino too. Brava!”
Over on GC and Sue W’s Weekly Prompts site, the Wednesday Challenge is the word Sunset. I don’t often take part in this challenge but I knew immediately what had to be entered for this one as tomorrow is the 80th anniversary of the Normandy Landings on 6 June 1944.
“Sunset”, also known as the “Retreat Call”, is a bugle call played in United Kingdom and British Commonwealth countries to signal the end of the official military day.
On 23 April Nina wrote her poem, Unsung Heroes, and commented as follows:
*I felt really emotional writing this. Sometimes, Napowrimo feels like a mental excavation and it gets overwhelming when you try and write as authentically as you can. Is it just me? Anyway, it’s a really rough write that needs editing but like a lot of my writes this month, I’ve posted them as is.
“I think this is an amazing piece of writing Nina which reads perfectly and powerfully. I would like to record it as a Spoken Word if I may, and repost it? I particularly like “Death too lurks everywhere as if with a daily quota to tick but sometimes someone’s soul will say not today, Death. Not today.”
Nina said OK, so here it is
Unsung Heroes
So many of them walk among us.
Death too lurks everywhere as if with a daily quota to tick but sometimes someone’s soul will say not today, Death. Not today.
The paramedic who does CPR just in time. The woman who pulls you out of the way of a bus. The lifeguard who drags you out of the current. The allies, the valiant, acting on instinct.
Those who can talk you back from the brink as you stand on a precipice not knowing how you got there.
The deep-sea divers in Thailand some years ago who saved that group of thirteen and braved the flooded cave, the valour, the strength, the resolve it took. I cannot fathom such heroism.
Someone says the odds are slim but courage says let us try, let us try we have to, because we must.
And it’s true that fortune favours the brave for something on high steps in and says I’ll help you.
The firefighters, the soldiers, the freedom fighters performing feats of grit and mettle looking death square in the eye. They signed up for it but how hard it must be to keep your cool in the face of jeopardy and know that one false move means you would perish too.
That is some steel will, right there – Timing, it’s all about timing, isn’t it? One second too late and then –
And of course the good, good parents doing their best every day, all their days the single mothers, the lone fathers guardians, keepers, teachers, carers cos that’s where it all begins with those who keep a watchful eye and do their part to plant the good, good seeds.
Every year on 25th January, people all over the world celebrate #BurnsNight, usually with a Burns Supper. The occasion is more than just a meal. It is a celebration of the life and works of Robert Burns. Read the story of Scotland’s National Poet, here: http://ow.ly/bYVF50Mslua. It is also President Zelensky’s birthday, who is reputed to be a fan of Burns.
There are so many Burns poems and songs to choose from. He wrote in the Scots language, although much of his writing is in a “light Scots dialect” of English, accessible to an audience beyond Scotland. He also wrote in standard English, and in these writings his political or civil commentary is often at its bluntest.
Nicola Sturgeon, The First Minister of Scotland, chose the following to include on her Twitter account this morning:
This is probably the best revue of 2022 Britain that you will see.
Easymalc commented “What a magnificent appraisal of Britain in 2022 Mike. I’ve often considered giving my thoughts on current affairs, but realise how impartial it needs to be to be taken seriously, but you’ve managed it in a way that would put the mainstream press to shame. I read every word and I have to say, nobody could have done it better. It should be sent to the National Archives for posterity.”
I wholeheartedly agree! See what you think.
A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to anyone who ventures onto the pages of A Bit About Britain – provided you have also bothered to stay and read something, of course. 19 more words
Actually, just a few images. Following on from Just an Image #54 which showed Springfield Mill, completed in 1888. The Mill, now housing multiple apartments, sits beside the Erewash Canal (completed in 1779 and stretching for 12 miles from the River Trent to Langley Mill). The chimney is maintained in a traditional manner by steeplejacks.
“But pleasures are like poppies spread,
Peter's pondering 
